


convenience

by newyorkpenny



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), tom holland - Fandom
Genre: Actor Tom Holland, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Meet-Cute, idk where this is going but it will be cute, possible angst later on who knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-27 23:20:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19799851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newyorkpenny/pseuds/newyorkpenny
Summary: Caroline didn't exactly want to be at the store that night, but, if not for her period, she wouldn't have met Tom. A story about the sweetest boy and a broke college student who needs a couple extra bucks to buy a candy bar.





	1. menstruation meet-cute

I wasn't supposed to be here; it was actually the last place I wanted to be at 10 PM on a Friday night. But Mother Nature seemed to have other plans, as aunt flow visited a little earlier than expected. The bell above the door jingled as I walked into the 24 hour convenience store down the street from my apartment. Greeted by dim lighting and tired faces I began to walk to the aisle that I had already committed to memory when I got my job here three weeks ago.

"Hey, whatcha doing back?" Wyatt, one of my coworkers, and, arguably my best friend asked. This man is the only reason I survive long shifts.

"Well, my period decided to come ea-" he stopped me with his hand in my face before I could finish, shaking his head.

Before I could rant about men and their irrational fear of menstruation, another wave of cramps hit me. Groaning, I took a seat in the middle of the store, clutching my stomach.

"It can't be that bad, I mean haven't you gotten 'it' every month since, like, 6th grade?" He asked, obviously not sympathetic towards people with uteri.

“5th grade, actually," I answered through groans. "And yes," I grabbed his arm, "it is that bad," I said, lifting my body up with little help of my uneducated friend. "Anyway, I came here for supplies."

I headed towards the "feminine products" section that was close to where I was, sending Wyatt to grab me a Kit Kat bar and some tylenol. After we had everything gathered I got in line to pay for my items. The store was mostly empty, with the exception of the man in line behind me and a group of teenagers looking at condoms.

"That'll be $10.67 miss, would you like a bag?" He asked. I rolled my eyes at his spiel and nodded, looking in my purse for money. It took me a minute, being a broke college student I didn't exactly have a ton of money lying around. I pulled out a few crumpled bills, totaling $9.

"Shit I'm a little short," I said to Wyatt with pleading eyes. His expression wasn't very forgiving as he was just as poor as I was.

“Sorry Care, I guess you'll have to put that candy bar back," he said, not understanding how much I needed it.

"I can't! It's an essential, especially during my time of neeeeeed!" I whined.

"Here," came a voice from behind me. I looked back to see, and I'm gonna be honest here, the hottest man I think I had ever seen. In the second I looked at him, I noticed a few of his striking features. Curly brown hair that seemed effortlessly styled, and gorgeous dark brown eyes. His eyebrows were drawn together as he focused on his brown leather wallet. While I was observing him he slid 2 extra dollars to Wyatt.

"Thank you so much! You just saved my life," I said in relief, making eye contact with the beautiful stranger.

He offered a smile and shook his head. "Not a problem, darling." He said.

This was the first time I noticed his British accent, and holy shit, I never would've thought that someone calling me "darling" would make me melt the way it just had. His voice was soft and nonchalant, as if he performed kind acts to strangers regularly. Boy, did it get my heart pumping.

It was only then did I realize I had been staring. I coughed and grabbed my bag from Wyatt. I turned back to the stranger.

"Is there any way I can pay you back? You really helped me out," I basically pleaded.

"Don't worry about it, it was nothing," he answered with a shy smile.

"Well, again, thank you so much..." I paused, waiting for a name.

“Oh! Uh, it’s Tom.”

“Thank you, Tom. I’m Caroline” I smiled then turned back to Wyatt.

"What time is your shift over?" I asked, hoping sometime soon.

"Uh," he looked at his phone, "in about 10 minutes," he replied, pushing his glasses up from the brim of his nose.

"Okay, text me when you get home. I have the early shift tomorrow, so hurry," I said, smiling at him and the stranger once more, offering a wave.

I turned around and pushed on the door that had obviously said pull, then, realizing my mistake, I shook my head and pulled open the door, and stepped outside into the cool air. I took a deep breath before continuing the walk down the block to my apartment. Making my way up the 3 flights of stairs I checked my phone, seeing a text from Wyatt.

_Okay. Was it just me or did I witness the beginning of a love story?_

I laughed to myself. Before I responded I unlocked my door and took care of, well, business. I then sat on my couch and thought of a reply.

_I wish. Although not many love stories start over menstruation_

After taking the medicine and settling in on my bed with my Kit Kat bar, I switched the TV to Friends reruns and continued my conversation with Wyatt, seeing a missed call from him. I decided to call him back and he picked up after the first ring.

"Okay you won't believe this," he said, out of breath.

"What, are you okay?" I questioned, slightly worried.

"I'm fine. And so was that guy! Guess what," he said, not giving me time to think of a witty answer. "That guy, Tom, I think his name was, well we started talking," he said, his voice slowly picking up.

"Don't tell me. He fell in love with you at first sight and you're running away to England?" I asked.

“Ha ha. That was so funny," he replied sarcastically. "I never should've come out to you, you know. Just because part of me likes men doesn't mean every guy I see I fall in love with," he said, and I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Although, I could see myself running away to England with him. Anyway, I was talking to him, about you, actually," he said.

"Holy shit really?!" I almost yelled.

"Let me finish! So I was like 'sorry she can be a bit much' and he was like 'don't apologize I liked it' and I was like 'yeah she's okay I guess' and so the next thing you know I may or may not have given him your number," he said, speeding up with each word.

"He said he liked it?!" I said with surprise.

"I was paraphrasing, Caroline. But essentially, yeah. He seemed into you."

"Did he ask for my number?"

"Well, I may have, uh, forcefully put it into his phone? But he wasn't mad about it. He was, ah what's the word? Amused! He was amused. Maybe he actually likes me? We did brush hands for a second there..." He said with excitement in his voice.

"To be honest he'd probably take you over me. But hey, give me a head start and later you can make your move," I said, not 100% kidding. We continued our conversation, going off about different topics before saying our goodbyes. Tucking myself into bed, I let the tv and thoughts of a certain someone lull me to sleep.


	2. on the house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This guy Tom is famous apparently??? And also hot.

I woke up to the relief of a cramps-free Saturday, but not a headache free one. My alarm blared after the third snooze, yanking me from a pretty sweet dream about a handsome stranger. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to think about the previous night before I realized that I had to be at work in 20 minutes. After rushing to get ready, I grabbed my purse and booked it out the door and down the street to work. The familiar door jingle gave me a sense of deja vu. 

“Whats up, whore,” Wyatt greeted me, with love.

“Hello slut,” I replied, walking to the back of the store where the workers kept their belongings. After hanging my purse and jacket, I strolled back out to the front desk where Wyatt scrolled through something on his phone. 

“Kevin’s gonna have you stocking shelves today. There’s a new shipment in the back,” he told me without looking up from his phone. Annoyed by his attitude, I grabbed the phone from his hand to see what was so important. I was shocked to see the instagram profile of a recognizable face.

“Is this…” 

“It is! The guy from last night! Or should I say, Tom Holland, the famous, gorgeous Spider-Man. Can you believe it?”

I was still in shock. This man has my phone number? In the same phone that he probably has tons of other famous people’s phone numbers? It had to be the wrong guy. I clicked on one of his posts and watched a video of him in a commercial. It’s definitely the guy.

It was at that moment when the bell above the door dinged once again, and I felt Wyatt stiffen beside me. This caused me to look up again, making eye contact with the same man whose profile was still playing a video on Wyatt’s phone. I scrambled to exit the app before tossing his phone back to him and speed walking to the back of the store where the boxes were. I needed to take a second to breathe before returning to work.

My mind was running wild. I can’t go back out there! He definitely heard me watching that video, and even if he didn’t, I can’t face him after basically running away from him!  
“No, no, you’re just overthinking things,” I said to myself. After gathering some courage, I grabbed the boxes of tampons (ironic) that needed to be stocked and I headed towards aisle 8. 

Cautiously, but trying to act casual, I peeked through the shelves I was stocking to try and get a peek at Tom, but it looked like he went somewhere else. I huffed and took a few steps back, colliding into a customer.

“Oh! I’m so sor- oh hi!” My heart dropped at the sight of him. Tom.

“Oh, hello! You’re Caroline, right? From last night?” He asked. Damn he was fine.

“Yeah, Tom, right?” He nodded. “Is there anything you need help with?” I asked him. I was dying on the inside. Acting nonchalant has never been so hard.

“Yes, actually. Do you know where I can find a small bag of crisps?” he asked with a smile.

I waved at him to follow me to aisle 3, where the shelves were stocked high with all junk food imaginable. I did a dramatic gesture with a bow, right next to the potato chips. He smiled and grabbed a bag. He looked like he wanted to say something. 

“Is there… anything else I can help you with?” I asked him, encouraging him to say more. 

“Uh, well, I also wanted to tell you that, well you probably already know this so I sound stupid, but your friend over there gave me your number but I felt uncomfortable using it.” My heart dropped at that. He definitely did not feel the same way about me.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I didn’t feel comfortable texting you if you didn’t want me to, I mean it wasn’t you who gave me the number and I didn’t wanna seem creepy or like I was harassing you or somethi-” I cut him off.

“Use it any time you want! Seriously, if you need some emergency beef jerky or… any other reasons, I mean, feel free,” I said, really embarrassed about how much I was rambling. I did find comfort in the fact that he seemed to ramble a bit too. 

He laughed at my response. “I might just take you up on that offer. Both of them.” He looked at his feet. I did the same.

“Hey, the chips are on the house,” I told him with a smile. He began to protest but I interrupted him. “I won’t take no for an answer! You saved me yesterday, I’m just returning the favor.”

“Wow, thanks! You didn’t have to…” he trailed off, smiling at the bag.

“Don’t mention it.” 

I walked Tom to the exit, briefly making eye contact with Wyatt, while making small talk and cracking a few jokes. I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him, especially considering the slightly awkward begin to our… relationship? I guess friendship is a better word.

“What time do you get off work?” he asked, a hint of hopefulness in his voice, brows raised.

“Uh, at threeish, why?” Please ask me out, please ask me out.

“Maybe I could pick you up after, we could get a bite to eat or drink? It can be your choice, I know you probably have cravings or something.” He paused for a second, making a weird face before continuing. “That was a stupid thing to say, I’m sorry.” He looked down.

“Ha, well you’re not wrong. Come back around three, there's a Starbucks down the street.” I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed or shy, although it was nice to know that the feeling was mutual. 

“Okay sounds great! See you at three.”

I watched him leave the store, arms swinging and a pep in his step. I stared for a minute longer before being shaken from my daze by Wyatt.

“Are you kidding me right now? What was he like?” He asked, eyebrows raised. 

I just shook my head with a smile. “He seemed pretty cool, actually. Not stuck up or anything. Maybe even a little shy?” 

“That's because you make him hot!” he yelled, startling the old lady he had been ringing up.

“Shut up. He was probably just scared I would have a mood swing or bleed all over him or something.” 

“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, you’re hanging out with some famous dude, that's pretty cool!” He finished bagging the old ladys items and gave her a polite nod.  
“I guess so,” I replied, walking back to the aisle I was stocking. 

Thank God for late night cramps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a filler but its necessary for the plot lol. This was a really quick update and idk if the next ones will be as fast but I've had some free time. Anyways hope ya liked it! If you did, please let me know in the comments so I know if this is worth continuing. If not, I'll always appreciate some constructive criticism! Thanks!!!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is it! I've never written anything on here so I hope its not terrible. My writing style is more casual and kinda like the way I talk rather than being super eloquent and poetic but hopefully this story will have its moments. Also.. I recently watched Far From Home and decided I needed to write about Tom lmao.


End file.
